ABC Family Leads the Way in All Things Gay

When Pat Robertson sold his “Family Channel” to Disney with
the stipulation that the word “family” never leave the channel’s title, he
probably wasn’t thinking families would include pregnant teens and lesbian
foster couples. But that’s exactly what Disney’s ABC Family channel holds up as
“A new kind of family.”

This summer, ABC Family will premiere “The Fosters,” which
is a “one-hour drama about a multi-ethnic family mix of foster and biological
kids being raised by two moms” according
to the network. This exquisitely PC concept was created by Bradley Bredeweg and Peter Paige, the creators and writers
for the vulgar gay drama “Queer As Folk.”

Still, this show will fit right in with the network’s sex-obsessed
lineup. Popular programs on the channel include “Pretty Little Liars” and “The
Secret Life of an American Teenager” which feature teen sex, pregnancy and same-sex
relationships. “Liars” star Ashley Benson was featured in Seventeen Magazine
this month and interviewed for her role in the newly released “Spring
Breakers,” which features a
threesome sex tryst with James Franco and former Disney star Vanessa Hudgens.
She is clearly a great role model for ABC Family’s young adult audience.

ABC Family has come a long way from the original intent of
Robertson’s network, which aimed to spread the Gospel with Bible-themed
programming. With the takeover of Disney in 2001, the network has evolved into
a poster child for gay activism.

This year 34
percent of it’s programming promotes LGBT issues, surprisingly down from
last year’s high numbers of over
half of the programming covering gay and lesbian issues. Both numbers are
disproportionately high compared to the actual number of people who
self-identify as gay (just 2-4 percent). This over-representation on television
shows has affected young
people’s perception of the gay population as well.

While there’s little room for actual families at ABC Family,
gay activists feel right at home.

In 2011, the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD)
announced that ABC Family was the most pro-homosexual network of the ten
networks it reported on. Entertainment Weekly's James Hibberd acknowledged, "networks
have dramatically increased the number of gay portrayals in recent
years." This is important because entertainment media significantly
influences public policy. As GLAAD even noted, "Of the 19 percent who
reported that their feelings toward gay and lesbian people have become more
favorable over the past 5 years, 34 percent cited 'seeing gay or lesbian
characters on television' as a contributing factor.”

These favorable feelings don’t just stay personal either;
they trickle down into political advocacy. According to the same Gallup poll, these
numbers mirror the public support for redefining marriage to include same-sex
relationships. Gallup polled U.S. acceptance of gay
relationships as “the
new normal” at 56 percent in 2011 and 54 percent in 2012. Compare this
number to the data from 10 years ago which revealed just 38 percent of
Americans approved, and it’s easy to see how media powerfully influences what
people think.

To paraphrase the theologian Francis Schaeffer, “What was
unthinkable yesterday, is possible today, and normal tomorrow.” And it will
come at the expense of the Families Disney’s network are named for.

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